Where the St. Louis Cardinals' top prospects will be starting the 2025 season

Double-A Springfield Cardinals

Pitchers: Cooper Hjerpe (#6), Tekoah Roby (#12), Max Rajcic (#23), Luis Gastelum (#30)

Cooper Hjerpe is what you may think of when you think of a typical lefty starter, sporting a quirky motion and a workhorse mentality. Even with his low-90s fastball, Hjerpe strikes out plenty of batters and had a mixed spring as a non-roster invitee. The lefty got into two games, covering three innings, and striking out four hitters but walked three.

Tekoah Roby is an extremely exciting pitcher for the Cardinals and will receive his first start of the season on Friday. The right-hander was acquired alongside Saggese in the trade with Texas and has struggled since moving over to St. Louis. He did receive an invite to major league camp this year and pitched well, striking out 10 batters in nine innings of work. Roby has plus stuff and could become a mid-rotation arm if he stays healthy.

Rajcic was drafted in the sixth round out of UCLA and has been a workhorse since making his professional debut in 2023. He has thrown at least 123 innings in each of his first two seasons which sets him up well to continue working his way up the starter ladder. Rajcic got into three games and covered 7.2 innings in big league spring. While he struck out eight, he also walked seven others but only gave up one run. The righty did not really have command issues in the minors, so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back with Springfield.

Luis Gastelum was signed out of Mexico in 2023 and made headlines with his ridiculous changeup that breaks like a screwball. Last season, Gastelum threw 48 innings and struck out 70 batters in Palm Beach. He could very easily work his way up the reliever depth chart this season.

Catcher: Leonardo Bernal (#7)

Leonardo Bernal battled with Jimmy Crooks during spring training and held his own, hitting .385 with two homers in his nine games but will begin the season in Springfield. While he could compete in AAA, the Cardinals most likely want to continue to give the switch-hitter regular playing time as a starting catcher rather than split time with Crooks in Memphis. Bernal is only 21 years old, and the Cardinals' organizational catching depth is something other teams may be checking in on throughout the year.

Infielder: JJ Wetherholt (#1, #23)

The Cardinals had to be ecstatic when one of the most complete hitters in the 2024 draft, JJ Wetherholt, fell to them with the seventh overall pick. In his short professional debut in Palm Beach last season, the shortstop hit .295 with a .805 OPS in 29 games. His athleticism and plate coverage gave him an invite to big league camp this year, and the 22-year-old held his own, walking six times, hitting a homer, and stealing three bases in 10 games. The Cardinals will most likely keep him at shortstop for the time being, but his defensive future is something to keep an eye on with Masyn Winn in St. Louis.

Outfielders: Chase Davis (#10), Nathan Church (#21)

Chase Davis was an exciting pick as a first-rounder out of Arizona in 2023 but has not done much in his professional career yet, but he played with the major league squad for three games before being the first player re-assigned to the minors. Davis is an extremely athletic outfielder who has flashed some power potential but has to take another leap with his offense to get the call-up to Memphis. The outfield depth in Triple-A is nothing spectacular so he could force his way up with a solid start to the year.

Nathan Church grabbed some headlines with his 99.7mph throw to nail a runner at home during spring training, and defense has always been his calling card. The speedy lefty hit nine homers and stole 24 bases with Springfield last year and has great plate coverage, striking out 60 times and drawing 43 walks in 127 games.